A 'captive audience' aids communication efforts
A 'captive audience' aids communication efforts
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, advises Colleen Davidson, CHPD, manager of LifeStyle programs at the P&H Mining Equipment Unit of Milwaukee-based Harnischfeger Industries. She recommends leveraging employee interest in new "wonder drugs" into well-attended programs where you can offer a wide variety of educational information.
"Because our nature is to want to lose weight tomorrow, and to be this wonderful, healthy well person, you can almost use it to your advantage since sometimes employees are desperate to try anything," she notes. "Plan a session in which you will talk about the new drugs, but also offer other messages."
Just what other messages should be offered? "Educate the employees about the risks as well as the benefits. Give them other options, to show them this is not the only way," she says. "Pass out information, and offer yourself as a resource if they have any questions or if they want future help."
This is not a new challenge for wellness professionals, says Davidson, although recent pharmaceutical developments may have increased employee awareness about medicinal health aids. "It is more of a challenge to kind of counter [the current] news because of the immediacy and the newness of these drugs. You need to advise caution if they are not proven," she says.
And what message does she communicate once she has her captive audience? "I try to instill among the employees that wellness is a lifelong journey, and that you need to take small steps along the way for total health and well-being. Health is not something in a jar that gives you a quick fix."
Sometimes, she admits, employees will read or hear about a new drug and decide that it's precisely what they need. "I advise them to wait until they hear it from three valuable sources before taking it to heart," says Davidson.
Davidson encourages a more natural approach, advising employees to "listen to your body" first. "Try the things that aren't going to require you to put something artificial into your body. If they have to take medications, I always advise employees to consult with their doctor, and work with them to try develop a plan of action that works with their specific condition."
Most important, says Davidson, offer your employees plenty of options. "Since so much of wellness program participation is voluntary, you want to offer a lot of options because everyone is different," she explains. "Some people do best when you send them a packet they can review on their own and apply to their own lifestyle; some need more guidance, such as working with you in your office; some benefit from team competitions."
Davidson says she has used the "captive audience" strategy successfully in the past. "For example, I have held blood pressure screenings and then given out information about what a high reading means. I've had programs on eating out, and then promoted our exercise program by making materials available at the session. People were into a 'healthy' frame of mind, so while they were waiting for the lecture, I gave them other materials. In the same way, you can lure people in with ideas about new medications, and communicate your other messages at the same time."
Most important, she says, stay in constant contact with your employees after the initial session. "Always have something going on, and let them know about it," she advises. "If one program does not interest them, perhaps the next one will."
[For more information, contact: Colleen Davidson, P&H Mining Equipment Unit, Harnischfeger Industries, 4400 West National Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53214. Telephone: (414) 671-7586.]
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